For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true.
Parallel translations
- WEB For in this the saying is true, ‘One sows, and another reaps.’
- KJV And herein is that saying true, One soweth, and another reapeth.
- NKJV For in this the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’
- NASB For in this case the saying is true: ‘One sows and another reaps.’
- NLT You know the saying, ‘One plants and another harvests.’ And it’s true.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus cites the saying that one person sows and another reaps. It frames ministry as a partnership across stages.
Overview
This common proverb usually expressed disappointment, but Jesus gives it a positive sense: God uses different people in different seasons of His harvest. It reminds disciples that they build on the labor of others, and others will build on theirs. The kingdom advances through cooperative, God-directed work.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 4
- Mic 6:15You will sow but not reap; you will press olives but not anoint yourselves with oil; you will tread grapes but not drink the wine.
- Job 31:8then may another eat what I have sown, and may my crops be uprooted.
- Judg 6:3Whenever the Israelites would plant their crops, the Midianites, Amalekites, and other people of the east would come up and invade them,
- Luke 19:21For I was afraid of you, because you are a harsh man. You withdraw what you did not deposit and reap what you did not sow.’
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
John declares him plainly: the eternal Word made flesh, the Lamb of God, the great 'I AM' — bread, light, door, shepherd, way, truth, life, resurrection — that you may believe and have life in his name.
How John 4:37 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.